Entry Red: Week 2

Experience:

This week, I tried out a game called Infamous First Light on the PS4; which, is apart of the Infamous series. I am new to the series but it's a standalone game. On top of that, the game's genre is Action-Adventure, a personal favorite.

When I first started up the game, the most noticeable feature was of course, the neon colors. (I always love vivid colors in a game.) The game starts up in a cutscene where Fetch, has already been taken in by the D.U.P. and is being told to give her story. This leads into us flashbacking two years prior, with her bother Brent. This is where the gameplay starts as a cop points a flashlight into your face and then you use your dash ability to drive their attention away from Brent. I found this part to be exciting, as they give a nice amount of freedom. You run with no specific direction in mind, into the city, as the cops chase after you. I've played games with similar themes, so for me it was a nice familiarity. The game seems simplistic and doesn't seem to truly offer anything "new" or push the boundaries, especially in probable comparison to the rest of the series. It seems very tightly-knit, linear, simplistic, and with a stricter structure. It's a straightforward game.

My main issue with the game, thusfar, is that there doesn't seem to be any croutching ability. You can easily check the controls, in the menu and this game makes saving and navigating fairly simple, which I love. However, this also makes it apparent that there isn't really a way to be stealthy. In fact, it seems as though once an enemy spots you, the rest somehow just know where you are at all times, unless you of course escape.

But, it took me probably 10 minutes to actually, "escape" in the beginning because I couldn't actually hide anywhere--just stand idly in an alley and hope the hovering helicopter doesn't spot me. "Don't mind me!"

But of course it did. Another issue, was how short and bare the skill trees were; but, I guess it fit for what seems to be a smaller game. I do enjoy the game I just know to level my expectations. But, this does teach me, that while some games push the notion "maybe there is a maximum to how much content you should put in a game", this one pushed the notion that, "maybe there is a minimum," too. Something, I will be mindful of when I'm creating my own games.

Exercise:

Exercise 2.1 : Think of a Game:

1. Think of a game, any game. Now write down a description of the game. Be detailed. Describe it as if to someone who has never played a game like it before.

2. Now think of another game—a completely different type of game. The more different this game is from the first one, the bett􏰂er. Describe it.

3. Compare your descriptions. Which elements were different and which were similar? Dig deep and really think about the underlying mechanics of each game.

Game 1- Splatoon 2

You start off in a futuristic, fictionalized, ocean society, playing as an Inkling; which, is a hybrid of a squid and a human. It's an online 3rd Person shooter, where you go into teams of 4v4 playing 5 different game modes. There's an additional 6th mode PVE but still in a four man squad. You shoot "ink" which you can swim in to travel quickly through maps, and use different weapons all themed around ocean critters. It's a relatively family-friendly version of shooter games, with lots of themes around music and bands. You pick your weapons and gear and farm to get the best abilities for your weapons and play style. There is also a competitive aspect and an option to be an Octoling, octopus and human hybrid.

Game 2- Fire Emblem: Three houses

This game is a Tactical RPG with relationship simulation aspects; a turn-based and heavily story-based game. FE3H takes place in a somewhat olden fantasy-esk fictionalized world where you rely on melee weapons and magic. You play as Byleth, with the option of male or female. You are a professor and get to choose one of three classes of students to teach; however, picking a class will change the fate of the story as you are also picking which path you want to take. You guide the students by helping them pick the best fighting class skills to work on and level them up through turn-based strategy fighting. You have the ability to add in several students from other classes into your own, as well. You get to ship yourself with pretty much any character in the game regardless of gender, and you can ship together other characters. You get cutscenes as the bonds grow and you are also given answer choices in certain parts of the story, which will grow or ruin bonds. You can participate in school activities, such as battling other players, fishing, cooking, etc. You have a calendar so time is an important part of the game, as you can miss certain events and lose important opportunities.

Compare:

The differences are almost like fire and ice. Splatoon 2 is a real time shooter with little storyline, whereas FE3H is a turn-based melee weaponed heavily story based game. While having "strategy" isn't impossible in Splatoon 2, its really on the player if they choose to do so, whereas in FE3H it is vital, as you can end up replaying the same mission several times if you dont account for certain aspects in advance. Even building up the wrong skills can have consequences, as it does not in Splatoon 2. However, what they do have in common is that team play is essential. There is no one-player-does-all (unless you count the fact that you still control all your "teammates" in FE3H). Another important feature, is they both give type freedom. For instance, a game like Overwatch, forces two players to play as one of the 3 class types per type (e.g., two healers). In Splatoon 2, you can have a whole team of snipers! In FE3H they give you the option to choose the route of your students classes, and you can replace them with more characters as they become available, so you could end up with say a bunch of Pegasus Knights if you truly wanted to. While, neither is recommended, it is a relative freedom we have.

This definitely, inspires me to look at my own game concepts in a simplified manner; such as, the way I was forced to explain and reduce these games to these descriptions.